And it is hoped the outcome will see Northern League football eventually return to Alnwick.

The town’s football club has suffered badly in recent seasons, eventually dropping to the Northern Alliance as financial and ground problems threatened to engulf them.

Slowly but surely, however, the Black and Whites are finding their feet again, and the appointment of a new chairman is the latest step forward.

Coffee shop owner Tom McKie was voted in by the club’s committee last week, and will take over the reins from current chairman Allan Wilcox at the end of the season.

Wilcox had kept the St James’ Park ship afloat despite huge pressures, and McKie said: “I know what Allan has been through, and I really admire him for staying at the club for six years.

“The aim is to get this club back on its feet and then to establish the position at the top of the league for the next two or three years.

“And hopefully by then, when the time comes to move on to our new pitch, we have gained promotion so we can step straight up from the Northern Alliance in to the Arngrove Northern League Division Two.”

As well as McKie, a new 24-member committee is set to be in place by the end of the season, including Bryan Ellis – a former Arlesey Town FC chairman who helped oversee his old club’s rise into the Ryman League First Division – as secretary.

And it’s not just off the pitch that changes are occurring, with Alnwick also looking for a new manager to replace long-serving Mac Belisle.

Belisle is stepping down after 16 years at the helm, and McKie said: “We want a manager who is up for the challenge, and whose heart and soul is in the right place.”

Anyone interested in applying for the position should email Bryan Ellis on ellisb@hasbro.co.uk

Meanwhile, fans of each of the North East’s Big Three are in for a treat when junior club Washington United FC hold a talk-in next month.

Former Newcastle and Sunderland defender Bob Moncur, fellow former Black Cat, Mick Horswill, and Boro legend Bernie Slaven are the star turns at the Stella Maris in Albany, Washington, on May 29.

Tickets, priced at just £10 each, are available from Mark Trotter on 07961 886574.